Thursday, November 29, 2012

Spike Jones & the City Slickers: "Laura"


Beauty and comedic mayhem collide in this Spike Jones tune entitled, "Laura".  Jones was not called the "master of mayhem" for nothing.  Music fans, dig the goofiness.  Jones certainly showed the lighter side of popular music when he was at his peak in the '40s and '50s, creating what amounts to musical satire.  He was the "Weird Al" of his day. 

Spike Jones & the City Slickers: "Cocktails For Two"

Step one: write beautiful melody. Step two: obliterate it with people yelling, "yippee!", playing a scratchy fiddle and thudding timpani. Step three: spray someone in face with champagne, step four: ring bells obnoxiously, step five: clink glasses so they shatter, step six: realize that maybe, just maybe, someone might have had a few too many drinks. Step seven: score a hit record! Dang!



Wednesday, November 28, 2012

concert revisited: Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul, MN, November 28, 2006



I have a few fuzzy memories of this concert as it happened really quickly and was on a school night, as I had class in college the very next morning.  But, I do remember that Seger pulled out all the stops on many of his classic songs and new material from his then just released album in '06 called "Face The Promise".  The Silver Bullet Band has had four main members.  Bob Seger on acoustic guitar and vocals, Chris Campbell on bass, Alto Reed on saxophones (an appropriate nickname or given name for a sax player), and Craig Frost on keyboards (piano & B3 organ of course).

Seger performed much material from his career including many songs off of "Face The Promise" and all his old chestnuts that remain radio staples.  "Main Street", "Katmandu", "Roll Me Away", "Sunspot Baby", "Against The Wind", and so many others, including one that included in video form here.  That song is "Turn The Page" and had to be one of the most significant tune of the whole show, as Seger and his ace backing musicians (The Silver Bullet Band), pulled out all the stops.  The crowd as yours truly remembers it, was "deliriously happy" as the newspaper said in their show review the next morning.

So, here's at least one of those sketchy memories from that great show by Seger & The Silver Bullets at the Xcel Energy Center, six years ago, tonight.

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

In memoriam: Jimi Hendrix

The great Jimi Hendrix would be 70 years old, today.  In honor of his legacy as the "greatest guitarist of all time" (and yes, those words are up to interpretation, because there were and are so many great ones), here is a performance he did with his second band, (Band of Gypsy's), featuring Billy Cox on bass, and the late, great Buddy Miles on drums.  This is "Machine Gun".  Enjoy it.  Rest In Peace, Jimi.


Monday, November 26, 2012

Niacin - Live In Tokyo

Coolness alert!  Found another new fusion power trio, very much like Medeski, Martin and Wood.  B3, bass, and drums, are the building blocks.  The band is called Niacin, and features John Novello on Hammond, Billy Sheehan on bass, and Dennis Chambers, on drums.  The name Niacin comes from the timbral foundation of the Hammond B3 organ, and the fact that Niacin is also known as Vitamin B3.  Towards the end of the show, they pull off a wicked cover of "Birdland" by Weather Report.  Check it out.


Sunday, November 25, 2012

Phantom Blues Band "Where Did My Monkey Go?"


Cool, kind of zany instrumental by the Phantom Blues Band, written by their trumpet player, Darrell Leonard, called, "Where Did My Monkey Go?"  Really showcases the horns, with Leonard, and tenor saxophonist Joe Sublett.  Full album review, coming soon.  Someone needs to find out where that monkey went. 

Saturday, November 24, 2012

record collection revisited: The Meters "The Very Best of The Meters"


A friend burned a copy of this record for me quite a while back, and when I heard it for the first time, I was hooked.  The Meters are amazing, with their New Orleans brand of funk that is pretty distinct from Motown or bands like P Funk, Larry Graham etc. etc.  It's still very good music and surely has it's own, spicy flavor.  The gumbo is simmering.  Here's the track list.

1. Cissy Strut
2. Live Wire
3. Sophisticated Cissy
4. Look-ka Py Py
5. Pungee
6. Tippi-Toes
7. Soul Island
8. Cabbage Alley
9. People Say
10. Hey Pocky A-Way
11. Just Kissed My Baby
12. Jungle Man
13. Out In The Country
14. Fire On The Bayou
15. They All Ask'd For You
16. Trick Bag

Friday, November 23, 2012

record collection revisited: Johnny Neel & The Last Word "Comin' 'Atcha... Live"

Here's a blues and soul drenched, heartfelt set from Delaware born keyboardist, Johnny Neel.  Neel came to prominence in the early 1990s after appearing on the "Seven Turns" album by The Allman Brothers, where he contributed keyboards and harmonica.  But, in this live set with his own band The Last Word, he takes bluesy soul to a whole other level!

The band lineup for this record includes:

Johnny Neel: Hammond B3 organ, synthesizer, vocals
Jack Pearson: guitar
Tim Loftin: bass
Scotty Hawkins: drums
Delbert McClinton: harmonica
Kelli Bruce: background vocals
Vickie Carrico: background vocals
Nannette Britt-Bohannon: background vocals

Neel's passionate vocal delivery that elevates itself to exuberant screams of "owww!" at points during the songs (a la James Brown, Wilson Pickett and other soul singers), and equally fiery Hammond B3 licks, is backed by an ace band that includes, among other musicians, guitarist Jack Pearson (who played a brief three-year stint with the Allman Brothers between 1997 and '99 as well).

Incidentally, this recording was done in 1994.  Pearson's slide guitar screams and adds to the raucous and yet vibrant nature of Neel's soul drenched blues.  Neel also plays some very good boogie tinged piano at certain points in the show.  Energy is what this set is all about.   

1. Society Hill
2. Just My Style
3. Maydell
4. Read Me My Rights
5. Lost the Will to Love Me
6. What am I
7. Bless My Soul
8. Turn On Your Love
9. The Blues Ain't Nothin'
10. Easy Come, Easy Go

At the end of the show, Neel says, "this is Johnny Neel!  You just heard the last word!  We love y'all.  Thanks a lot!"  This is definitely a party record.  Neel has more releases out, too.  At the time yours truly acquired this CD, there were no other releases under his name.  But, since then, some of his other recordings have appeared.  These include:

"One Hot Night" 1981
"You Should Have Been There: Live" 1983
"Comin' Atcha Live" 1995
"Late Night Breakfast" 2000
"X2" w/Matt Abts (drummer for Gov't Mule) 2002
"Gunmetal Blue" 2004
"Johnny Neel & The Italian Experience" 2004
"Johnny Neel & The Criminal Element Volume 1" 2007
"Johnny Neel & The Criminal Element Volume 2" 2008
"Johnny Neel & The Criminal Element: CSI Chronicles" 2010*CD/DVD
"Johnny Neel: Harmonius" 2010 *CD/DVD

Check out Neel's work.  Another very inspiring bluesy keyboard master.

Thursday, November 22, 2012

The Last Waltz


This is not the movie that was also shot for the concert of The Last Waltz, on Thanksgiving Day 1976 at Winterland in San Francisco, but rather, it's the entire album in full that was released in 1978.  Check it out.  Here is the track listing.

Side One

#   Song                                       Writer                   Performed By:

1. Theme From The Last Waltz  (Robertson)
2. Up On Cripple Creek (Robertson)                    Levon Helm
3. Who Do You Love     (McDaniel)                     Ronnie Hawkins
4. Helpless                     (Young)                          Neil Young
5. Stage Fright               (Robertson)                    Rick Danko

Side Two

1. Coyote                     (Mitchell)                        Joni Mitchell
2. Dry Your Eyes          (Diamond, Robertson)    Neil Diamond
3. It Makes No Difference (Robertson)               Rick Danko
4. Such A Night                 (Rebennack)             Dr. John

Side Three

1. The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down (Robertson)     Levon Helm
2. Mystery Train                                        (Parker, Philips) Levon Helm & Paul Butterfield
3. Mannish Boy                                         (London, McDaniel, Morganfield) Muddy Waters
4. Further On Up The Road                      (Robey, Veasey)       Eric Clapton

Side Four

1. The Shape I'm In                                  (Robertson)              Richard Manuel
2. Down South In New Orleans               (Wright, Anglin)         Bobby Charles & Dr. John
3. Ophelia                                               (Robertson)               Levon Helm
4. Tura Lura Lural (That's an Irish Lullaby) (Shannon)               Van Morrison & Richard Manuel
5. Caravan                                                (Morrison)              Van Morrison

Side Five

1. Life Is A Carnival                                  (Danko, Helm, Robertson)     Levon Helm, Rick Danko
2. Baby, Let Me Follow You Down           (Davis, von Schmidt)              Bob Dylan
3. I Don't Believe You                               (Dylan)                                   Bob Dylan
4. Forever Young                                      (Dylan)                                   Bob Dylan
5. Baby Let Me Follow You Down
    (reprise)                                                (Davis, von Schmidt)              Bob Dylan
6. I Shall Be Released                               (Dylan)                                   Bob Dylan, Richard Manuel

Side Six

"The Last Waltz Suite" written by Robbie Robertson


1. The Well                                                                                             Richard Manuel                      
2. Evangeline                                                                                          Rick Danko, Emmylou Harris,
                                                                                                              Levon Helm
3. Out of the Blue                                                                                   Robbie Robertson
4. The Weight                                                                                         Levon Helm, Pops Staples,
                                                                                                              Mavis Staples, Rick Danko
5. The Last Waltz Refrain                                                                       Richard Manuel, Robbie Robertson
6. Theme From The Last Waltz   


Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Coleman Hawkins "Body and Soul"


It's the birthday of legendary jazz saxophonist Coleman Hawkins today.  Here is his best known tune entitled "Body and Soul", a jazz standard.  Check it out.

M83 "Claudia Lewis"

This is the other M83 track that yours truly has been wearing out, entitled "Claudia Lewis".  The '80s vibe is very evident here.  But, the part that floors me is the bass line.  The band's producer plays bass on this.  Slap bass at it's best.  Check it out.


Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Happy Birthday, Duane Allman

Today would be the 66th birthday of one of my biggest six string inspirations, Duane Allman.  Duane could play slide guitar like nobody ever did.  There are many who have followed in his footsteps.  But, he is truly one of a kind.  Here's an example of The Allman Brothers in their prime, circa 1970, playing "Don't Keep Me Wonderin' " with guest harmonica player, Thom "The Ace" Doucette, and "Dreams".  Enjoy  Happy Birthday "Skydog!"  Rest In Peace.


M83 "Steve McQueen"

Here's a relatively new tune I've been digging as of late by M83 called "Steve McQueen".  M83 reminds me of music of the 1980s with all the synthesizers, but set in a modern lexicon entirely.  First time I heard this song, I was floored!

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Johnny Winter

Check out this review of a Johnny Winter CD that comes from that blues blog yours truly has been following entitled In a Blue Mood.  Yours truly has seen Johnny Winter in concert, and has mentioned his work on this blog a number of times.  Here's the link to the review.

http://inabluemood.blogspot.com/2012/11/johnny-winter-seen-and-heard-live-from.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+blogspot%2FtQLoa+%28In+a+Blue+Mood%29

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Mahavishnu Orchestra: "Noonward Race"


Here's a wild one.  This is Mahavishnu Orchestra in it's first iteration in 1972 with John McLaughlin on guitar, Jan Hammer on keyboards, Jerry Goodman on violin, Rick Laird on bass, and Billy Cobham on drums.  To see future iterations of the band which included such names as Jean Luc Ponty, Gayle Moran, Narada Michael Walden, Bill Evans, and Jonas Hellborg (to name a few), go here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahavishnu_Orchestra

Mahavishnu was one of the pioneering fusion bands along with countless others that have been mentioned on this blog before.  Check out "Noonward Race".  

Friday, November 16, 2012

Hubert Sumlin & Sunnyland Slim "Come On Home, Baby"


Check out this blues track featuring some legendary blues musicians in their heyday, during the Chicago blues boom.  Hubert Sumlin on guitar, Sunnyland Slim on piano, and Willie Dixon on bass, to name most of the band, playing a song called "Come on Home, Baby".

new Eric Clapton track

According to Eric Clapton's official website at www.whereseric.com, there is a new track out that was supposed to be released on the "Slowhand" album 35 years ago (circa 1977).  But this track, entitled "Looking At The Rain" has just been released to radio stations worldwide.  Here are the full details.  This news definitely caught the attention of yours truly.

http://whereseric.com/eric-clapton-news/303-eric-claptons-looking-rain-heading-us-radio

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Rolling Stones "Slave" instrumental backing track

This is a rare, unedited instrumental backing track version of "Slave" by The Rolling Stones, recorded during sessions for their "Black and Blue" album somewhere between December 1974 and March 1975.  Any jam bands out there, take note.  This would be awesome to cover, just as an instrumental jam tune.  Dig it!


Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Randy & Michael Brecker "Song For Barry"


This is "Song For Barry" by The Brecker Brothers, in a more updated version with the WDR Big Band. The tune was blogged here quite a while back (sometime last year as I recall), with Michael Brecker playing an EWI and Mike Stern on guitar.  This is the very version that was also recorded on The Brecker Brothers live album entitled "Some Skunk Funk", that was blogged about earlier on, too.  So, this is a "song revisited" post, if you will.  Check it out.

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

record collection revisited: Royal Southern Brotherhood

This is a new band that has just come on the scene.  But, it does have some members that should be familiar to fans within the jam band community.  It is a quintet.  The album was produced by Jim Gaines who is a well known name in the music world.  Here's a list of the artists he's produced albums for, and those specific albums from AllMusic.

http://www.allmusic.com/artist/jim-gaines-mn0000345005

Royal Southern Brotherhood is comprised of:

Charlie Wooton: bass
Mike Zito: guitar & vocals
Cyril Neville: vocals & percussion
Devon Allman: guitar & vocals
Yonrico Scott: drums 

Cyril Neville was a member of The Meters, with his brother Art in the 1970s.  Devon Allman fronts his own band called Honeytribe.  Yonrico Scott played drums in the Derek Trucks Band for many years.  He's also worked with Susan Tedeschi, The Earl Klugh Quartet, (Klugh is a well known and respected jazz guitarist), and with his own band, the Yonrico Scott Band.  

Royal Southern Brotherhood is a good name for the band.  They've got a lot of blues and gospel elements.  Mike Zito and Devon Allman definitely add to this being a guitar driven record.  There are no keyboards being dealt with.  But, in really deeply listening to what the music is about, this is a good old fashioned, bona fide southern drenched soul record, especially when it comes to the vocals laid down by Cyril Neville, Mike Zito, and Devon Allman.  

1. New Horizons
2. Fired Up
3. Left My Heart in Memphis
4. Moonlight over the Mississippi
5. Fire on the Mountain
6. Ways About You
7. Gotta Keep Rockin'
8. Nowhere To Hide
9. Hurts My Heart
10. Sweet Jelly Donut
11. All Around The World
12. Brotherhood

No matter what music category this record may be tossed in, give it a listen.  It's good music, pure and simple.

Monday, November 12, 2012

The Douglas Group "Look-Ka Py Py"


Here is a great cover of "Look-ka Py Py" sans the scatting.  It's an instrumental by the Adam Douglas Group, featuring Adam Douglas on guitar and slide guitar, Iver Olav Erstad on Hammond B3, Per Oystein Erstad on bass, and Jon Reidar Furulund on drums.  These guys absolutely smoke the stage.  Ivar Olav Erstad wails on B3 and then, Adam Douglas counters with a phenomenal and blistering solo that combines lead and slide guitar.  Turn up the heat, and add the hot sauce to the gumbo.  This is wicked!

Sunday, November 11, 2012

The Meters

From a performance in New Orleans, Louisiana, earlier this year, here are The Meters.  This shows that great music gets better with age.

The band is:

Art Neville: Hammond B3 organ
Leo Nocentelli: guitar & vocals
George Porter Jr.: bass
Joseph "Zigaboo" Modeliste: drums

They play a five song set list that includes:

1. Fire On The Bayou
2. Africa
3. Look-ka Py Py
4. Funky Miracle
5. People Say



Check it out.  The Meters are true originals. 

Saturday, November 10, 2012

Marcus Miller and Larry Graham, "The Jam"


Marcus Miller and Larry Graham laying it down, seriously bringing the funk in a performance in 2010.  The band lineup is:

Marcus Miller: bass & vocals
Larry Graham: bass & vocals
Federico Gonzalez Pena: keyboards
Alex Han: alto saxophone
Sean Jones: trumpet
Louis Cato: drums

Miller's slap bass absolutely floors me every time I hear it.

Friday, November 9, 2012

Jean Luc Ponty "Aurora"

Another favorite from the album of the same name.  "Lost Forest" has already been highlighted.  Here is "Aurora".  This is not only a showcase for Jean Luc Ponty's masterful violin work.  But, the groove on this, seems to almost be a prototype for what jam bands would do with a lot of their music, less than two decades later.





Wednesday, November 7, 2012

record collection revisited: Blackberry Smoke "The Whippoorwill"

Blackberry Smoke was a band introduced in the coverage of the Peach Music Festival last summer.  Yours truly has found a copy of their record called "The Whippoorwhill".  They have a very rootsy sound.  Yes, this is a boogie rock band, so there's plenty of that and a lot of blues influence in it.  They come from Atlanta, Georgia, much like The Black Crowes did.  The record is very well put together with the songwriting providing vivid imagery of how the band members have probably lived their lives and the music is something the common man can relate to.

Sure, it's basic rock and roll instrumentation with twin guitars, Hammond B3, bass and drums.  But, the songwriting is solid indeed.  Charlie Starr is a good singer as well.  He's got a twang in his voice obviously.  But, he's also someplace between country and soul in the vain of an early boogie rock pioneer like Doug Gray, Toy Caldwell, or Ronnie van Zant.  Blackberry Smoke is made up of the following members, as a refresher.

Charlie Starr: vocals, guitar, pedal steel guitar & banjo
Richard Turner: bass & vocals
Paul Jackson: guitar & vocals
Brandon Still: piano & organ
Brit Turner: drums & percussion

If you are into swampy, Dixie fried boogie rock, definitely look into Blackberry Smoke.  Here are the tracks on "The Whippoorwill". 

1. Six Ways To Sunday
2. Pretty Little Lie
3. Everybody Knows She's Mine
4. One Horse Town
5. Ain't Much Left of Me
6. The Whippoorwill
7. Lucky Seven
8. Leave A Scar
9. Crimson Moon
10. Ain't Got The Blues
11. Sleeping Dogs
12. Shakin' Hands With The Holy Ghost
13. Up The Road

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Wayne Shorter

Any Wayne Shorter fans out there, check this out.  It's an article from a blues/jazz blog I follow called "In A Blue Mood", and is about a new biography recently written about Shorter.

http://inabluemood.blogspot.com/2012/11/michelle-mercers-insightful-wayne.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+blogspot%2FtQLoa+%28In+a+Blue+Mood%29

Wounded Bird Records

Check out this record label.  There's some great, obscure albums that are re-released from artists mainly associated with rock, blues and jazz.  Go to:

http://www.woundedbird.com/


Monday, November 5, 2012

record collection revisited: Jean Luc Ponty "Aurora"

This is actually a new record/CD to my collection.  But, yours truly was so moved by it, it must be highlighted right here and right now.  There's no time to wait.

This record is an adventure from start to finish.  The music is absolutely mesmerizing, combing Jean Luc Ponty's masterful command of the violin with his backing band that includes Darryl Steurmer on guitar (a player who can deliver extremely fast and yet articulate arpeggios, very similarly to his more well known contemporary, Al di Meola), Patrice Rushen on keyboards (Rhodes electric piano), Tom Fowler on bass, and Norman Fearington on drums.

"Is Once Enough?" is very reminiscent of Weather Report in a way, with Fearington's drumming propelling an unstoppable groove.  Ponty's violin Steurmer's guitar, and Rushen's electric piano all are propelled to lofty heights in this adventurous romp of a tune.  Thought it doesn't have the ultra wild timbre changes accomplished by Zawinul, Shorter and company in the aforementioned band, it possesses the same level of speed and technical skill in crafting an adventurous number that is listenable.  It swirls and dives all over the place, coming to a succinct ending.

"Renaissance" (which was Ponty's featured piece with Return To Forever), is presented here in very much the same way as his band mates in RTF played it on their 2011 world tour, giving little doubt to the fact that it was indeed his composition that he was eager to showcase.  Here, the listener finds Ponty crossing that bridge between his training as a classical violinist, while incorporating the nuances of jazz in his playing.  Ponty is the one (and maybe only) violinist, who can cross these barriers and make it work, even to a first time listener's ear.

Rushen on grand piano, and Darryl Steurmer on acoustic guitar, really provide a framework for Ponty to work with, and Rushen's piano solo is a thing of beauty in itself.  Readers of this blog will recall this song was also in the live album done by Return To Forever from their 2011 tour.  Both versions are worth a listen, even though the RTF version is much longer and has room to grow and manipulate into many different layers.  The textures and tones used on this number for all instruments are tasteful, and the song comes to a quiet ending.

"Aurora" is in two parts.  It starts with Rhodes and guitar, before the rhythm section and Ponty's violin join in immediately.  The bass line drives this tune on part one with violin and guitar doing a duet of sorts and then, there are brief drum rolls before the tempo slows and part one ends.  In part two, a theme change.  It's Ponty and Steurmer playing a bluesy, funky opening interlude duet.  The drums come in, the key changes to A minor (literally), and underneath Ponty's soaring lines, the foundation of a groove that is a prototype for modern day jam bands is kind of built up with the drums, bass and Rhodes.  Ponty just sails and glides his notes over this, in measured and yet exuberant fashion.

This is proof that he can take the violin to new places where it's never been before.  Ponty is the quintessential jazz violinist.  Then, in response, Steurmer answers with a very bluesy, yet relatively clean guitar solo.  It's got some bite to it, but is very well played and timed spot on.  Continue the A minor groove.  Steurmer's notes seem to just shoot off the fret board and maintain their earthy, emotive, bluesy quality.  Then, it's twin leads (no, not twin lead guitars).  But, a duet between violin and guitar.  The song modulates to another key and Rushen adds additional bass from a Moog synthesizer, before the tune comes to a close with a flourish.

"Passage of the Dark" opens with a tasteful sequence of notes and a swirling delay on the guitar, or perhaps on the violin even.  Ponty could have used an effect pedal, somewhere, though it's hard to tell.  Bass, keys and drums fill in briefly before another wild Darryl Stuermer guitar solo, in which he beautifully plays lower and mid range notes with the accent of a wah wah pedal.  What guitarist doesn't love wah?  Ponty answers him, with a delay effect on the violin.  If you listen, you might mistake it for a second guitar.  But it's not.  Ponty can make the violin sound like a guitar or a synthesizer.  He probably had tons of ideas in recording this album.

Return to the main synthesizer and guitar theme with the delay and the clean sounding violin.  This is innovative stuff.  That caps off the tune.  It has to be heard to be believed.  "Lost Forest" is next.  This song was highlighted in video form earlier on.  The intro is majestic with the violin and classical guitar.  Ponty shoots for the stars in some of the intro notes, using an echo device more than likely.  This time, bass, Rhodes and drums, just find their place as the rhythm section, until Patrice Rushen answers the violin with another tasteful Rhodes solo.

It's complex.  But, it's fascinating to the ear.  Ponty enters again, gracefully.  His notes flow together so well.  He's a master of technical skill and beauty when it comes to the violin here.  Words cannot really do justice to how he plays.  Especially in the latter half of "Lost Forest".  More modulating on the same vamp and the drums lessen their pulse just a bit.  Ponty and Rushen seem to speak to each other through the notes they play before Jean Luc ends this track with a gorgeous flourish.

"Between You and Me" has a quiet intro where Jean Luc must be using the volume knob on the violin just a bit before switching to a chorus type effect as the bass and the Rhodes once again provide the foundation for his explorations.  He's got an intensity to his playing here that's well controlled and doesn't get overly ornate.  There's a key change, slightly, before Rushen plays a solo.  The drums on this tune are very subtle.  Rushen is joined in her piano solo by Ponty and the two weave a tapestry of sound between the Rhodes' glissandos and Ponty's escalating vibrato briefly, before rounding off into the main theme another time.  There's definite magic in the last few bars before the tune fades out into some obscure noise.

The last track on the album is "Waking Dream".  Maybe it's the last dream someone has in their sleep at sunup just as they are opening their eyes, yawning deeply as another day starts.  There's a great contrast between the violin and what seems to be Moog bass or a low toned keyboard, and the Rhodes.  The rhythm is held together at first just by Jean Luc Ponty and Patrice Rushen with no involvement of the drums or bass.  It's waltz like and hypnotic.  This continues through different modulations for a while, ending up on an abrupt E chord to end the tune.

That's where the album comes to a close.  "Aurora" is a brilliantly painted sonic tapestry.  Certainly, that's how Jean Luc Ponty wanted to put the album together when it was recorded in 1976 which seems to be a watershed year for electric jazz fusion as many great albums in the genre came out that year.  It's an enjoyable listen.  That's for sure.  

1. Is Once Enough?
2. Renaissance
3. Aurora Part I
4. Aurora Part II
5. Passenger of the Dark
6. Lost Forest
7. Between You and Me
8. Waking Dream


Saturday, November 3, 2012

Willie Nelson tribute

A tribute to Willie Nelson, (one of my first inspirations to play the guitar, and actually, one of my biggest musical influences), done on the Country Music Association Awards by his peers.  Artists include Lady Antebellum performing "Always On My Mind", and "Crazy": Blake Shelton, Keith Urban, and Willie's harmonica player Mickey Raphael jamming on "Whiskey River": Faith Hill and Tim McGraw, singing "Goodhearted Woman" (a tune he wrote and performed with the late, great, Waylon Jennings), and at the very end, Willie is called up to the stage and handed his prized guitar, "Trigger" to play "On The Road Again".

A great tribute to a great musician.  Yours truly saw Willie play at Northrop Auditorium in 2002.  Will have to find the set list for that gig and blog it at some point.  Willie was a big inspiration to me as far as guitar playing, too.  He has a singular style to be sure.   He's also honored, in this video, with a Lifetime Achievement award, bearing his name.  How cool is that!

Friday, November 2, 2012

concert revisited: Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band @ Xcel Energy Center November 2, 2007

This is the set list from the first of two occasions in which I saw Bruce Springsteen and his incredible E Street Band at the Xcel Energy Center.  A very high energy, passionate, rock and roll show to be sure.

http://backstreets.com/setlists2007.html

Set list:

1. Radio Nowhere
2. No Surrender
3. Lonesome Day
4. Gypsy Biker
5. Magic
6. Reason To Believe
7. Night
8. She's The One
9. Livin' In The Future
10. The Promised Land
11. Your Own Worst Enemy
12. Incident on 57th Street
13. Working on the Highway
14. Devil's Arcade
15. The Rising
16. Last To Die
17. Long Walk Home
18. Badlands

Encore:

19. Girls In Their Summer Clothes
20. Thunder Road
21. Born To Run
22. Dancing In The Dark
23. American Land

Band lineup

Bruce Springsteen: lead & backing vocals, guitar & harmonica
Roy Bittan: piano, keyboards & background vocals
Clarence Clemons: tenor saxophone, percussion, background vocals
Danny Federici: organ, accordion, keyboards, backing vocals
Nils Lofgren: guitar, slide guitar, backing vocals
Steven van Zandt: guitar, mandolin, backing vocals
Garry Tallent: bass, backing vocals
Max Weinberg: drums, backing vocals